A boy “obsessed” with a girl stabbed her in a shop – because she wouldn’t go out with him.

The teenager had asked the victim out on a date but she said no – so he followed her to the store armed with a blade in his jeans pocket.

The 14-year-old boy walked calmly up towards her, took the knife out and grabbed her forcefully – stabbing her multiple times.

A boy “obsessed” with a girl stabbed her in a shop – because she wouldn’t go out with him. Gloucestershire Police / SWNSThe teenager had asked the victim out on a date but she said no – so he followed her to the store armed with a blade in his jeans pocket. Gloucestershire Police / SWNSThe 14-year-old boy walked calmly up towards her, took the knife out and grabbed her forcefully – stabbing her multiple times. Gloucestershire Police / SWNS

The shopkeeper, who was in the store at the time, attempted to grab the boy and pull him away from her.
But the teen then struck the shopkeeper in the back with the knife.

In the footage, the boy is seen chasing the girl through the store and walking behind her with a knife in his hand.

But she is able to run out of the shop and raise the alarm at a neighboring property.

The shopkeeper, who was in the store at the time, attempted to grab the boy and pull him away from her.
Gloucestershire Police / SWNS

As a result of the attack, the girl sustained cuts to her neck, hands and face, and bruising to her back.

In the footage, the boy is seen fleeing the scene but was found by police close to the location.

He was searched, and a knife was found in his jeans pocket. He was arrested soon after the attack.

The boy from Wiltshire had been waiting for the girl near a shop in Cirencester, Glos, Gloucestershire Police say.

Appearing at Bristol Crown Court on Monday (9/21), the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was said to have become obsessed with the girl in his school.

After she rejected his advances in December 2025, he began using fake social media accounts to send her messages.

The boy from Wiltshire had been waiting for the girl near a shop in Cirencester, Glos, Gloucestershire Police say. Gloucestershire Police / SWNS

Police were called to Upper Churnside in Cirencester at around 11:15 a.m. on March 15 this year following a report of a stabbing.

In a statement read to the court, the girl said: “I’m scared and nervous anywhere that I go.

“Even if someone puts their hand up next to me I flinch as I don’t know what they are about to do to me. I know this is as a result of the incident, as I wasn’t like this before.

The boy is seen fleeing the scene of the stabbing in this grab from footage released on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. Gloucestershire Police / SWNS

“I was in so much shock after it happened. I didn’t leave the house for a couple of days. I never thought something like this would ever happen to me, or anyone I know at all.

“I’ve been having nightmares since; I relive the incident, but in these dreams it happens in different places. I sleep in the dark but when I wake, I constantly feel like there is a presence in the room. I can’t stop thinking about it.

“This is going to affect my ability to trust people. I’m now getting dropped off to work…because I don’t want to be outside on my own. I shouldn’t have to feel like this as a teenager in my own area.”

Police were called to Upper Churnside in Cirencester at around 11:15 a.m. on March 15 this year following a report of a stabbing. Gloucestershire Police / SWNS

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Ian Fletcher, Head of Serious and Complex Investigations, said: “This was a frenzied attack that took place in broad daylight.

“The victim was stabbed multiple times with a knife and has been very, very lucky to get away with only minor injuries. We could easily have been looking at a fatal incident if that knife had pierced her anywhere else.

“My hope now is that the victim is able to move on from these deeply traumatic events and start to rebuild her life again.”